3n  (Wlemoriam. 


LIBRftRY 


OF  THE 


University  of  North  earolina. 

Endowed  by  the  Dialectic  and  Pliilan- 
thvopic  Societies. 

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00032193493 

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be  taken  from  ih 
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A  MEMORIAL 


OF  THE 


HON.  George  Davis, 


Born  in  New  Hanover  County,  Horth  Carolina, 
March  1st,  1820. 


Senator  from  the  State  of  Korth  Carolina,  m  the 

Congress  of  the  Confederate  States 

of  America. 


Attorney  General  of  the  Confederate  States  of 
America. 


DIED  IN  WILMiNGTON,  N.  C,  FEBRUARY  23RD,  1896. 


Prepared  and  puhlished  hy  direction  of  the  Wilmington 

Chamber  of  Commerce. 

1896. 


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Wilmington,  U.  C.  March  5th.  1896. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  Wilmington  Chamber 
of  Commerce  called  to  receive  the  report  of  Messrs. 
James  Sprunt,  William  Calder  and  William  R. 
Kenan,  a  committee  appointed  at  the  last  meeting 
of  the  Chamber  "to  prepare  a  suitable  memorial  and 
record"  of  the  Honorable  George  Davis  ;  the  Presi- 
dent, Mr.  James  H.  Chadbourn.  Jr.,  being  in  the 
chair.  Mr.  William  Calder,  on  behalf  of  the  said 
committee,  presented  and  read  the  following  ; 


flDemoiial. 


O;  Tour  committee,  appointed  to  prepare  a  "  suitable  memorial 

^^Jfand  record"  of  our  late  distinguished  and  venerated 
citizen,  the  Honorable  George  Davis,  approached  the  task 
assigned  them  with  a  profound  sense  of  their  own  inadequacy  to 
offer  anything  worthy  of  that  noble  life,  but  with  an  earnest  de 
sire  to  add  to  all  the  true  and  beautiful  things  that  have  been 
said  of  him  some  memorial  that  would  more  fully  set  forth  the 
labors  and  achievements  of  the  foremost  citizen  of  our  Cape  Fear 
section. 

To  do  this  we  have  thought  nothing  could  be  more  appropriate 
than  a  free  use  of  his  own  writings  and  the  testimony  of  his  con- 
temporaries at  the  various  periods  of  his  life — what  he  said,  what 
he  wrote  and  what  he  did,  (obtaining  thus  a  clearer  conception 
and  reminder  of  his  high  morality,  his  great  ability  and  his  rare 
eloquence. 

We  are  also  moved  to  this  course  by  the  hope  that  it  may  in- 
spire the  rising  generation  with  a  desire  to  study  his  career,  and 
in  a  grateful  people  the  resolve  to  rescue  from  oblivion  his  scat- 
tered compositions. 

Nearly  fifty  years  ago,  a  gifted  young  orator,  who  had  from 
boyhood  held  the  admiration  and  confidence  of  his  fellow- 
citizens  of  Wilmington,  appeared  before  a  large  assembly  in  the 
old  Presbyterian  church  on  Front  street,  and  said  : 

"  He  who  has  watched  the  sun  in  its  bright  course  through 
the  firmament  and  seen  it  gradually  decline  until  it  went  down 
in  darkness  beneath  the  horizon,  may  turn  from  the  contempla- 
tion with  no  feelings  of  sorrow  or  regret,  for  he  knows  that  the 
period  of  its  absence  is  mercifully  ordained  as  a  season  of  neces- 
sary repose  to  him  and  to  all,  and  that  the  morrow  will  restore 
its  beams  to  revive  and  reanimate  all  nature.     But  if  the  last 


declining  ray  which  struck  upon  his  eyelids  had  brought  to  him 
the  conviction  that  he  had  gazed  for  the  last  time  upon  the  sun 
in  the  heaven — that  henceforward  there  was  to  be  no  more  rising 
nor  setting,  no  morning  nor  evening,  nor  light,  nor  heat — no 
effulgent  day,  with  all  its  glorious  beauties  and  excellencies  ;  but 
night  and  darkness,  unrelieved  save  by  the  twinkling  stars,  were 
to  be  the  law  of  earth  forever — with  what  sensations  would  the 
poor  wanderer  view  that  last  setting  of  the  sun ! 

"  With  feelings  somewhat  akin  to  those  I  have  imagined  we 
behold  the  death  of  the  great  and  good  whom  we  love  and 
reverence.  But  now,  they  were  here,  with  all  the  generous 
impulses  and  excelling  virtues  that  dignify  and  adorn  humanity 
clustering  thickly  around  them.  We  rejoiced  in  their  presence, 
we  were  better  under  their  benignant  influence,  we  were  happy 
in  their  smiles — we  felt  that  it  was  day,  and  looked  not  into  the 
future.  They  are  gone.  The  places  of  earth  shall  know  them  no 
more  forever.  The  mysterious  law  which  loosens  the  silver  cord 
and  breaks  the  pitcher  at  the  fountain,  penetrates  the  heart.  The 
darkness  and  the  thick  night  of  desolation  are  upon  us.  But 
we  have  more  than  the  pale  rays  of  the  twinkling  stars  still  left 
to  guide  and  cheer.  By  the  light  of  their  lofty  deeds  and  kindly 
virtues  memory  gazes  back  into  the  past,  and  is  content.  By  the 
light  of  Revelation  hope  looks  beyond  the  grave  into  the  bright 
day  of  immortality,  and  is  happy.  So,  with  the  consolation  of 
memory  and  hope,  let  us  take  the  lesson  of  the  great  calamity 
which  has  befallen  our  country." 

The  eloquent  speaker  was  George  Davis,  and  the  occasion  was 
an  outpouring  of  our  people  to  honor  the  memory  of  the  illus- 
trious Henry  Clay. 

Mr.  Davis  was  born  March  ist,  1820,  on  his  father's  planta- 
tion at  Porter's  Neck,  then  in  New  Hanover,  now  Pender,  county. 
His  father  was  Thomas  F.  Davis,  and  his  mother  Sarah  Isabella 
Eagles,  daughter  of  Joseph  Eagles. 

He  left  home  at  eight  years  of  age,  and  attended  the  school  of 
Mr.  W.  H.  Hardin,  at  Pittsboro,  after  which  he  returned  to 
Wilmington,  where,  upon  the  invitation  of  Governor  Dudley,  he 


was  prepared  for  college  by  Mr.  M.  A.  Curtis  (afterwards  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Curtis,  of  Hill.sboro),  who  then  acted  as  tutor  in  the 
Governor's  family  at  his  resilience  on  the  corner  of  Front  and 
Nun  streets.  He  matriculated  at  Chapel  Hill  in  the  fourteenth 
year  of  his  age,  the  youngest  member  of  his  class,  and  graduated 
when  eighteen,  with  the  highest  honors  of  the  University.  We 
have  before  us  the  time-stained  pages  of  his  valedictory  address, 
the  lofty  sentiments  ot  which  indicate  an  embryotic  type  of  true 
manhood,  which  steadily  developed  with  his  years.  After  a 
polished  and  scholarly  address  to  the  audience  and  the  President 
and  Faculty,  in  which  his  love  for  his  Alma  Mater  was  manifest, 
he  concluded  as  follows  : 

"  And  for  us  there  is  one  consolatory  thought  that  relieves  in 
some  slight  degree  the  stinging  pain  and  bitterness  of  this 
parting  moment:  It  is  the  hope  that  we  will  leave  behind  us  a 
not  unremembered  name — that  we  will  still  retain,  though  absent, 
a  place  in  the  memory  of  those  whom  we  have  loved  with  a 
brother's  heart —whom  we  have  clasped  to  our  bosoms  with 
more  than  fraternal  affection.  It  is  the  hope  that  after  we  shall 
be  no  longer  with  you,  when  you  tread  those  walks  which  we 
have  loved,  when  you  behold  those  fair  scenes  which  used  to 
gladden  our  eyes,  some  kind  voice  may  whisper  among  you  : 
"  I  wish  they  were  here."  This  is  our  hope,  this  our  prayer ;  for 
to  be  thus  remembered  is  to  be  blessed  indeed." 

Upon  Mr.  Davis'  return  to  Wilmington,  immediately  after  his 
graduation,  he  began  the  study  of  law,  probably  in  the  office  of 
his  distinguished  brother,  Thomas  Frederick  Davis,  who  prac- 
ticed for  a  time-  here,  but  who  was  afterwards  led  to  advocate 
higher  and  more  important  interests  than  those  of  a  worldly 
character,  and  who  became  Bishop  of  South  Carolina  in  1853. 

Before  Mr.  Davis  became  of  age,  in  the  year  1840,  he  was 
licensed  to  practice  in  all  the  courts  of  law,  and  soon  became 
a  leader  in  his  profession.  Endowed  with  extraordinary  talents, 
which  he  assiduously  developed  by  close  study  and  painstaking 
preparation,  he  never  entered  a  cause  without  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  its  bearings.     He  was  well  versed  in  all  depart 


8 

ments  of  the  law,  thoroughly  equipped  in  general  literature,  and 
was  a  logical  and  forcible  debater.  He  was  held  in  the  highest 
esteem  by  his  fellow-members  of  the  bar,  who  recognized  him 
among  the  ablest  jurists  of  his  time.  His  honesty  of  purpose 
and  fidelity  to  his  profession  distinguished  him  through  life. 

Although  a  leader  in  this  section  of  the  Whig  party,  his 
ambition  never  led  him  to  seek  office,  and  throughout  the  forty 
years  of  his  active  professional  and  official  life  he  won  the  calm 
respect  and  good  opinion  of  all  parties  by  his  extensive  legal 
acquirements,  his  quickness  of  perception,  his  soundness  of 
understandmg,  and  by  his  dignified  and  chivalric  politeness. 

On  November  17th,  1842,  he  married  Mary  A.  Polk,  daughter 
of  Thomas  G.  Polk,  and  great  grand  daughter  of  Thomas  Polk, 
one  of  the  signers  of  the  Mecklenburg  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence.    Mrs.  Davis  died  27th  September,  1863. 

One  of  the  most  attractive  features  of  his  well-rounded 
character  was  his  cultivated  and  refined  literary  taste.  His  essays 
are  among  the  choicest  expressions  of  his  times,  and  those  upon 
the  history  and  traditions  of  the  Cape  Fear  region  will  be  oi 
priceless  value  to  coming  generations.  We  have  already  given 
the  introduction  of  his  celebrated  eulogy  on  the  life  and  public 
service  of  Henry  Clay,  and  we  shall  recall  by  brief  extracts  some 
other  literary  gems  which  we  trust  may  be  gathered  and  publishd 
in  lull  by  his  grateful  and  devoted  people. 

On  the  8th  of  June,  18"^,  he  delivered  an  address  before  the 
two  literary  societies  of  Chapel  Hill  on  "  The  early  men  and 
times  of  the  Lower  Cape  Fear,"  some  of  which  we  will  quote, 
illustrative  of  his  delightful  style  of  narrative,  and  also  as  giving 
some  indications  of  the  qualities  of  the  ancestry  from  which  he 
sprung. 

A  lineal  descendant  of  the  founders  of  the  Cape  Fear  settle- 
ments, he  had  an  intense  love  for  his  native  section,  and  it  is  an 
irreparable  misfortune  that  he  never  undertook  the  writing  of  the 
history  of  Eastern  Carolina.  That  he  desired  to  do  so  we  are 
assured,  but  the  exigencies  of  life  never  permitted  what  would 
have  been  to  him  truly  a  labor  of  love. 


In  an  address  before  the  Historical  and  Scientific  Society  of 
Wilmington,  on  the  26th  of  November,  1879,  entitled  "A  Study 
in  Colonial  History,"  he  said  : 

'"I  have  been  persuaded  that  the  civil  commotion  which  is 
known  in  our  history  as  Carey's  Rebellion  has  never  been  fairly 
treated  ;  that  the  historians,  deriving  all  their  information  from 
the  Government  party,  and  treading  solely  in  each  others  foot- 
steps, have  told  only  the  story  of  that  party,  and  have  greatly 
misrepresented  the  motives,  the  characters  and  the  actions  of  the 
men  who  were  opposed  to  it.  And  I  have  desired,  when  time 
and  opportunity  should  serve  me,  to  undertake  a  careful  exami- 
nation of  the  subject  in  the  hope,  if  possible,  to  undo  some  of 
the  wrong  of  the  historians.  The  present  address  is  intended 
only  as  an  introduction  to  that  more  serious  work,  and  its  object 
is  to  start  a  new  train  of  thought  and  prepare  the  way  for  it. 

"  The  historian  of  the  Uiu"tcd  States  has  complained  of  the 
carelessness  with  which  the  history  of  North  Carolina  has  been 
written.  The  reproach  is  but  too  just.  As  Colony  and  State 
not  yet  two  centuries  old,  the  story  of  her  infancy  and  early 
progress  is  a  sealed  book  to  the  many,  and  to  the  curious  few  is 
more  imperfectly  known  than  that  of  nations  which  flourished 
and  decayed  thousands  of  years  ago.  And  if  this  is  true  of  the 
State  at  large,  it  is  eminently  so  of  that  section  of  it  in  which  I 
live.  The  Cape  Fear  country  has  never  had  a  historian.  Its 
public  records  were  always  meagre  and  barren.  Its  private 
records,  once  rich  and  fruitful  sources  of  history,  have  become 
much  mutilated  and  impaired  in  the  lapse  of  time  by  accident, 
and  by  the  division  and  emigration  of  families.  Its  traditions 
are  perishing,  and  are  buried  daily  with  our  dead,  as  the  old  are 
passing  away.  And  the  little  which  has  been  preserved  by  the 
pen  of  the  historian  is  scattered  through  volumes,  most  of  which 
are  rare,  and  some  of  them  entirely  out  of  print.  I  have  thought, 
therefore,  that,  instead  of  sermonizing  upon  themes  which  were 
long  ago  threadbare,  I  could  not  better  employ  my  allotted  hour 
than  in  giving  you  a  sketch,  imperfect  as  it  may  be,  of  the  early 
Times  and  Men  of  the  Lower  Cape  Fear.     I  shall  not  aspire  to 


10 

the  dignity  of  history.  My  time  and  opportunities  for  research 
have  been  too  Hmiled,  and  the  subject  is  too  full  for  the  compass 
of  an  ordinary  address.  I  assume  the  humbler,  but  still  pious, 
duty  of  connecting  recorded  facts,  of  perpetuating  traditions  and 
of  plucking  away  tlie  mosses  which  have  gathered  on  the  tombs 
of  some  of  our  illustrious  dead.  In  so  doing  I  may  be  accused 
of  sectional  pride.  But  I  can  afford  to  brave  such  a  charge,  for 
I  feel  that  the  motive  is  higher  and  purer ;  that  it  springs  from  a 
loyal  devotion  to  the  honor  of  my  whole  State,  and  a  sincere 
admiration  for  the  character  of  her  whole  people,  and  especially 
of  her  good  and  great  that  are  now  no  more.  My  single  desire 
is  to  awaken  a  new  interest  in  her  history  by  assuring  you  that 
you  will  find  there  her  amplest  vindication  from  the  taunts  and 
aspersions  which  aie  so  freely  flung  against  her.  And  I  would 
fain  hope  that  I  need  offer  no  apology  for  my  subject,  since  I 
come  to  speak  to  North  Carolinians  of  things  that  touch  nearly 
the  fame  of  the  good  old  State,  and  the  memory  of  her  noble 
dead." 

In  an  address  before  the  Literary  Societies  of  Chauel  Hill,  on 
the  early  Times  and  Men  of  the  Lower  Cape  Fear,  he  said : 

"  I  begin,  now,  my  sketch  with  some  passages  from  English 
history,  extracting  first  from  Hume's  account  of  the  Irish 
Rebellion  of  1641  :  'There  was  a  gentleman  called  Roger 
More,  who,  though  of  narrow  fortune,  was  descended  from  an 
ancient  Irish  fannl}'',  and  was  much  celebrated  among  his  coun- 
trymen for  valor  and  capacity.  This  man  first  formed  the  project 
of  expelling  the  English,  and  asserting  the  independency  of  his 
native  country.  He  secretly  went  from  chieftain  to  chieftain  and 
roused  up  every  latent  principle  of  discontent.  He  maintained 
a  close  correspondence  with  Lord  Maguire  and  Sir  Phelim 
O'Neale,  the  most  powerful  of  the  old  Irish.  By  conversation, 
by  letters,  by  his  emissaries,  he  represented  to  his  countrymen 
the  motives  of  a  revolt,'  etc.  "  By  these  considerations  More 
engaged  all  the  heads  of  the  native  Irish  in  the  conspiracy. 

"  It  is  not  my  purpose  to  pursue  the  history  of  this  rebellion. 
It  was  disastrous   to   the    Irish,   and   deservedly   so,    for   they 


II 

disgraced  themselves  by  barbarities  which  shock  humanity. 
With  these,  however,  it  is  certain  that  More  and  Maguire  had 
nothing  to  do.  For  Maguire  was  taken  in  the  outset  of  the 
revolt  at  the  unsuccessful  attack  upon  the  Castle  at  Dublin,  and 
was  condemned  and  executed.  And  of  More,  Hume  himself 
says  :  '  The  generous  nature  of  More  was  shocked  at  the  recital 
of  such  enormous  cruelties.  He  flew  to  O'Neale's  camp,  but 
found  that  his  authority,  which  was  sufficient  to  excite  the  Irish 
to  insurrection,  was  too  feeble  to  restrain  their  inhumanity. 
Soon  after  he  abandoned  a  cause  polluted  by  so  many  crimes, 
and  he  retired  into  Flanders.' 

"  He  must  have  been  a  man  of  no  ordinary  character,  and  justly 
entitled  to  the  admiration  of  all  lovers  of  freedom,  who,  though 
driven  into  exile  and  branded  as  a  rebel  and  a  traitor,  could  yet 
draw  forth  language  like  the  foregoing  from  the  apologist  and 
defender  of  the  Stuarts  !  Fortunately,  the  world  will  not  now 
take  its  definition  of  treason  from  those  who  bow  to  the  Divine 
right  of  kings. 

"  Two  years  later  another  event  occurred,  of  minor  importance 
in  English  history,  but  worthy  of  notice  here.  In  1643  the  city 
of  Bristol  was  captured  by  the  forces  of  the  Parliament.  At  that 
time  Robert  Yeoman  or  Ycamans  was  sheriff,  or,  as  some  say, 
an  alderman  of  the  city,  and  active  and  zealous  in  the  service  of 
the  King,  and  after  its  surrender  he  was  condemned  and  exe- 
cuted for  his  loyalty." 

It  will  appear  hereafter  how  these  two  events  (the  rebellion 
and  exile  of  More  and  the  execution  of  Yeamans,  so  entirely 
disconnected  in  history)  have  a  very  important  bearing  upon  the 
subject  of  this  sketch. 

"  Soon  after  the  proposals  of  the  Proprietors  were  first 
published  some  gentlemen  of  Barbadoes,  dissatisfied  with  their 
condition,  and  tempted  by  the  liberal  offers  which  those  propo- 
sals held  out,  in  September,  1663,  dispatched  a  vessel  under 
command  of  Captain  Hilton  to  reconnoitre  the  country  along 
the  Cape  Fear  river.  They  explored  both  br.mches  of  the  river 
for  many  miles,  and  it  is  remarkable  that   two   noted   places, 


12 

named  by  them  Stag  Park  and  Rocky  Point,  are  so  called  and 
known  at  this  day.  Returning  to  Barbadocs  in  February,  1664, 
they  published  an  agreeable  account  of  their  voyage  and  of  the 
country  which  they  had  been  sent  to  examine.  Among  the 
planters  who  had  fitted  out  this  expedition  was  Jolm  Yeamans, 
eldest  son  of  Robert  Yeamans,  the  sheriff  of  Bristol,  who  had 
been  hanged  at  the  taking  of  that  city  in  1643  ^^c  had  emi- 
grated to  Barbadoes  with  the  view  of  mending  his  fortunes,  and 
being  pleased  with  the  report  of  the  expedition,  he  determined 
to  remove  to  Carolina,  lie  went  to  England  to  negotiate  with 
the  Proprietors,  and  received  from  them  a  grant  of  large  tracts 
of  land,  and  at  the  same  time  he  was  knighted  by  the  King  in 
reward  for  the  loyalty  and  misfortunes  of  his  family.  Returning 
from  England,  in  the  autumn  of  1665,  he  led  a  band  of  colonists 
from  Barbadoes  to  the  Cape  Fear,  and,  induced  by  the  traces  of 
civilization  which  were  left  by  the  New  England  colony,  he 
pitched  upon  the  spot  they  had  inhabited,  and  purchasing  from 
the  Indians  a  tract  of  land  thirty-two  miles  square,  he  laid  the 
foundations  of  a  town  which  he  called  Charlestown,  in  honor  of 
the  reigning  monarch.  Martin  and  Bancroft  declare  that  the 
site  of  the  town  is  still  a  matter  of  uncertainty;  but  the  doubt  is 
only  with  the  historians.  Tradition  has  fixed  the  spot  beyond 
dispute.  It  is  on  the  north  side  of  Old  Town  Creek,  at  its 
junction  with  the  river,  nine  miles  below  Wilmington. 

"  In  the  last  decade  of  the  seventeenth  century  a  name 
appeared  in  the  history  of  South  Carolina,  destined  soon  to  be 
distinguished  there,  and  near  a  century  later  to  become  still  more 
illustrious  in  the  annals  of  the  Cape  Fear.  The  head  of  this 
family  was  James  More,  the  descendant;  and  it  is  believed  the 
grandson,  of  Roger  More,  who  led  the  Irish  Rebellion  in  1641. 
In  the  wreck  of  his  family  and  fortunes  he,  too,  like  so  many 
others,  had  looked  towards  the  setting  sun,  and  fixed  his  eyes 
upon  the  '  summer  land '  of  Carolina.  He  had  inherited  all  the 
rebellious  blood  of  his  grandsire — his  love  of  freedom,  his 
generous  ambition,  and  his  bold  and  turbulent  spirit.  He  soon 
acquired  great  influence  in  the  Province,  and  upon  the  death  of 


13 

Governor  Blake,  in  1700,  he  was  elected  Governor  by  the 
deputies  of  the  Proprietors. 

"  This  Governor,  James  Moore,  married  the  daughter  of  Sir 
John  Yeamans  ;  and  thus,  by  a  singular  fortune,  these  families, 
which  had  suff(>rcd  from  such  opposite  causes  in  the  old  world, 
became  united  in  the  new  ;  and  the  blood  of  Robert  Yeamans 
and  of  Roger  More  mingled  in  North  Carolina  to  breed  some  of 
the  noblest  champions  of  her  freedom,  and  the  pioneers  of 
permanent  civilization  upon  the  Cape  Fear." 

From  this  union  of  the  Yeamans  and  the  Mores,  offspring  on 
the  one  side  of  the  martyred  adherent  of  the  rights  of  kings, 
and  on  the  other  of  the  ardent  rebttl  exiled  from  a  country  he 
could  not  free,  Mr.  Davis  was  a  Hnoal  descendant,  and  we  may 
well  believe  that  in  him  were  united  all  the  worthiest  attributes 
of  each  line  of  his  sturdy  ancestry —love  of  liberty  tempered  by 
respect  for  law  and  prestige,  sound  conservatism  subservient  to 
a  lofty  patriotism,  and  all  directed  and  inspired  by  the  rare  genius 
of  his  own  God-given  soul. 

Another  address  which  has  been  widely  quoted  was  prepared 
for  a  charitable  object  and  delivered  before  a  large  audience  in 
Thalian  Hall.  It  was  printed  afterwards  in  the  ^outJi.  Atlantic 
Mcujazine  of  this  place,  January,  1879,  and  is  entitled  "An 
Episode  in  Cape  Fear  History." 

In  it  occurs  this  notable  passage,  which  we  may  call  the 
apotheosis  of  the  slaveholder  : 

"  Yeamans  returned  to  Barbadocs,  and  in  the  autumn  of  that 
year,  as  we  have  seen,  led  his  colony  to  the  Cape  Fear.  He 
governed  there  for  five  years  with  gentleness,  humanity  and 
prudence,  and  then  returned  to  Barbadoes.  In  1671  he  was 
appointed  a  Landgrave  of  Carolina,  with  a  grant  of  12,000  acres 
of  land,  to  be  located  at  his  pleasure  And  in  the  same  year  he 
went  to  settle  a  plantation  on  the  Ashley  river,  in  South  Carolina, 
where  a  colony  under  Governor  Sayle  had  landed  the  year 
before.  This  seems  to  be  a  simple  announcement  of  a  very  com- 
monplace fact ;  but  it  was  the  little  cloud  no  bigger  than  a  man's 
hand.     It  was  the  most  portentous  event  of  all  our  early  history. 


14 

For  he  carried  with  him  from  Barbadoes  his  negro  slaves ;  and 
that  was  the  first  introduction  of  African  slavery  in  Carolina, 
(Bancroft,  2,170;  Rivers,  169) 

"  If  as  he  sat  by  the  camp  fire  in  that  lonely  Southern  wilder- 
ness, he  could  have  gazed  with  prophetic  vision  down  the  vista 
of  two  hundred  years,  and  seen  the  stormy  and  tragic  end  of 
that  of  which  he  was  then  so  quietly  organizing  the  beginning, 
must  he  not  have  exclaimed  with  Ophelia,  as  she  beheld  the 
wreck  of  her  heart's  young  love  — 

"'  O,  woe  is  me  !  To  have  seen  what  I  have  seen,  see  what 
I  see  ! ' 

"  Slavery  is  in  the  grave,  and  nothing  can  disturb  its  eternal 
rest.  I  would  not,  if  I  could,  raise  it  from  the  dead.  The  slave 
is  free.  God  speed  him  in  his  freedom,  and  make  him  worthy 
of  it.  The  slaveholder  has  passed  into  history  at  the  cannon's 
mouth.  His  future  life  must  be  there,  and  there  he  will  live 
forever.  He  did  the  State  some  service.  Was  great  in  council 
and  in  action,  clear  in  honor  and  in  truth,  and  always  a  man 
wherever  true  manhood  was  wanted.  He  knew  how  to  compel 
the  love  of  friends  and  the  respect  of  enemies,  and  how  to  build 
his  proudest  monument  in  his  country's  greatness.  But  there 
are  those  who  never  loved  him,  and  whose  fashion  still  it  is  to 
make  him  the  embodiment  of  evil,  the  moral  scarecrow  of  the 
times  True,  he  ended  well.  True,  that  as  he  stood  and  died 
by  his  hearthstone,  fighting,  as  he  believed,  for  God  and  country, 
he  was  something  for  men  and  gods  to  behold.  But  what  is  that 
to  them?  They  desire  to  see  nothing  but  his  humiliation,  and 
to  their  distorted  vision  Belisarius,  blind  and  begging  at  the 
Roman  gates,  was  not  half  so  poor  a  sight.  They  cannot  forgive 
him  for  having  been  great,  and  they  delight  to  howl  the  death- 
song  of  his  greatness.  They  trample  on  its  grave.  They  cover 
it  with  curses,  and  Pelion  upon  Ossa  they  pile  their  offal  upon  it. 
And  they  think  that  they  have  buried  it  out  of  their  sight 
forever.  And  do  they  think  that  the  spirit  which  brought  this 
Republic  out  of  chaos,  and  directed  it  for  the  fifty  years  of  its 
truest  greatness  and  purity,  can  be  annihilated  by  a  proclama- 


15 

tion  ?  And  do  they  believe  that  Washington  and  Jefferson,  and 
Jackson  and  Clay,  and  Stonewall  and  Lee,  and  all  the  long  roll 
of  our  heroes  and  patriots  and  statesmen,  are  but  dead  names, 
pale  ghosts  that  can  but  squeak  and  gibber  at  their  fallen  great- 
ness ?  That  they  have  left  no  livmg  memories  in  their  children's 
hearts,  no  sacred  seed  that  can  once  more  bourgeon  and  Liloom 
for  our  country's  honor?  Oh,  no  !  That  spirit  is  not  dead.  It 
will  rise  again.  Not  in  the  old  likeness,  for  old  things  have 
passed  away.  But  transformed  and  quickened  into  a  new  life. 
Once  more  it  will  make  itself  a  name  for  the  nation  to  sound. 
Once  again  it  will  step  to  the  front  and  pass  first  in  ilglit  as  it 
was  wont  to  do  whenever  great  opinions  are  clashing,  or  a 
great  cause  imperilled.  Once  again  to  the  front,  whenever  and 
wherever  freedom's  battle  is  to  be  fought.  Once  again  to  the 
front,  no  more  to  contend  with  brethren  in  arms,  but  only  in  the 
generous  strife  for  the  glory  and  honor  of  a  common  country." 

And  again,  this  description  of  Cape  Fear : 

"  Looking,  then,  to  the  Cape  for  the  idea  and  reason  of  its 
name,  we  find  that  it  is  the  soulhermost  point  of  Smith's  Lsland, 
a  naked,  bleak  elbow  of  sand,  juttmg  far  out  into  the  ocean. 
Immediately  in  its  front  are  the  Frying  Pan  Shoals,  pushing  out 
still  further  twenty  miles  to  sea.  Together  they  stand  for 
warning  and  for  woe,  and  together  they  catch  the  long,  majestic 
roll  of  the  Atlantic  as  it  sweeps  through  a  thousand  miles  of 
grandeur  and  power  from  the  Arctic  towards  the  Gulf.  It  is 
the  play-ground  of  billows  and  tempests,  the  kingdom  of  silence 
and  awe,  disturbed  by  no  sound  save  the  sea-gull's  shriek  and 
the  breaker's  roar.  Its  whole  aspect  is  suggestive,  not  of  repose 
and  beauty,  but  of  desolation  and  terror.  Imagination  cannot 
adorn  it.  Romance  cannot  hallow  it.  Local  pride  cannot 
soften  it.  There  it  stands  to  day,  bleak,  and  threatening,  and 
pitiless,  as  it  stood  three  hundred  years  ago.  when  Greenville 
and  White  came  nigh  unto  death  upon  its  sands.  And  there  it 
will  stand,  bleak,  and  threatening,  and  pitiless,  until  the  earth  and 
the  sea  shall  give  up  their  dead.  Atid  as  its  nature,  so  its  name 
is  now,  always  has  been,  and  always  will  be,  the  Cape  of  Fear." 


i6 

In  May,  1S56,  Mr.  Davis  was  invited  by  the  Board  of  Trus- 
tees of  Greensborough  Female  College  to  address  the  Literary 
Societies  of  that  celebrated  Institution,  and  his  speech  on  this 
occasion,  the  publication  of  which  was  not  anticipated  by  its 
author,  has  been  regarded  by  many  as  one  of  the  best  efforts  of 
his  life. 

In  that  address  occurs  the  following  passage  : 

"  A  rich  and  well  stored  mind  is  the  only  true  philosopher's 
stone,  extracting  pure  gold  from  all  the  base  material  around. 
It  can  create  its  own  beauty,  wealth,  power,  happiness.  It  has 
no  dreary  solitudes.  The  past  ages  are  its  possession,  and  the 
long  line  of  the  illustrious  dead  are  all  its  friends.  Whatever 
the  world  has  seen  of  brave  and  noble,  beautiful  and  good,  it  can 
command.  It  mingles  in  all  the  grand  and  solemn  scenes  of 
history,  and  is  an  actor  in  every  great  and  stirring  event.  It  is 
by  the  side  of  Bayard  as  he  stands  alone  upon  the  bridge  and 
saves  the  army ;  it  weeps  over  the  true  heart  of  chivalry,  the 
gallant  Sidney,  as  with  dying  hand  he  puts  away  the  cup  from 
his  parched  and  fevered  lips.  It  leaps  into  the  yawning  gulf 
with  Curtius  ;  follows  the  white  plume  of  Navarre  at  Ivry  ;  rides 
to  Chalgrove  field  with  Hampden  ;  mounts  the  scaffold  with 
Russell,  and  catches  the  dying  prayer  of  the  noble  Sir  Harry 
Vane.  It  fights  for  glory  at  the  Granicus,  for  fame  at  Agincourt, 
for  empire  at  Waterloo,  for  power  on  the  Ganges,  for  religion  in 
Palestine,  for  country  at  Thermopylae,  and  for  freedom  at 
Bunker  Hill,  It  marches  with  Alexander,  reigns  with  Augustus, 
sings  with  Homer,  teaches  with  Plato,  pleads  with  Demosthenes, 
loves  with  Petrarch,  is  imprisoned  with  Paul,  suffers  with 
Stephen,  and  dies  with  Christ.  It  feels  no  tyranny  and  knows 
no  subjection.  Misfortunes  cannot  subdue  it,  power  cannot 
crush  it,  unjust  laws  cannot  oppress  it.  Ever  steady,  faithful 
and  true,  shining  by  night  as  by  day,  it  abides  with  you  always 
and  everywhere." 

In  1 86 1  the  shadow  of  a  great  national  calamity  appeared — 
the  whole  country  was  convulsed  with  conflicting  emotions. 
The  political  leaders  of  North  Carolina  were  divided  upon  the 


17 

issue.  Mr.  Davis  loved  the  Union,  and  steadfastly  counseled 
moderation.  His  appointment  by  Governor  Ellis  as  a  member 
of  the  Peace  Commission,  to  which  further  reference  is  made, 
created  a  feeling  of  absolute  confidence  in  the  minds  of  the 
conservative  citizens. 

The  desire  of  the  people  of  North  Carolina  was  to  see  peace 
maintained  whether  the  Union  was  preserved  or  not,  and  for  this 
purpose  the  Legislature  on  January  26,  1861,  appointed  Commis- 
sioners to  conventions  to  be  held  at  Montgomery,  Richmond  and 
Washington  City.  These  Commissioners  were  Hon.  Judge 
Ruffin,  Hon.  D.  M.  Barringer,  Hon,  David  S.  Rcid,  Hon.  John  M. 
Morehead,  Hon.  D.  L.  Swain,  J.  R.  Bridgers,  M.  W.  Ransom 
and  George  Davis,  Esqrs.  Mr.  Davis  went  to  Washington  City 
as  a  member  of  the  Peace  Congress  which  assembled  on 
February  4,  186 1.  The  moral  weight  of  the  position,  and  the 
character  of  the  gentlemen  then  and  there  assembled,  gave  to  the 
significance  of  the  occasion  portentous  aspects.  The  Congress 
sat  with  closed  doors,  ex-President  Tyler  was  elected  President, 
and  on  taking  the  chair  made  one  of  the  most  eloquent  and 
patriotic  speeches  ever  heard.  This  Conference  was  in  session 
until  February  27th,  1861,  when  Mr.  Davis  telegraphed  :  "  The 
Convention  has  just  adjourned  sine  die,  after  passing  seven 
articles  of  the  Report  of  the  Committee,  much  weakened.  The 
territorial  articles  passed  by  a  majority  of  one  vote.  North 
Carolina  and  Virginia  voted  against  every  article  but  one." 

It  is  difficult  for  those  of  us  who  remember  only  the  intense 
unanimity  of  the  Southern  people  after  the  war  was  fairly 
inaugurated,  to  realize  how  in  those  previous  troublous  days  the 
minds  of  men  were  perplexed  by  doubts.  Up  to  this  time  the 
Union  sentiment  in  North  Carolina  had  been  in  the  ascendant. 
The  people  waited  upon  the  result  of  this  Congress,  and  in  this 
section  especially  was  the  decision  of  many  reserved  until  Mr. 
Davis  should  declare  his  final  convictions.  His  announcement 
of  them  marked  an  epoch  in  his  life,  and  in  that  of  countless 
others,  for  weal  or  woe. 

Immediately  upon  his  return  home,  the  following  correspond- 
ence took  place : 


i8 

Wilmington,  2d  March,  j86i. 
Dear  Sir : — Your  friends  and  fellow  citizens  are  exceedingly 
anxious  to  hear   from  you  with  reference  to  the  proceedings  of 
the  "  Peace  Congress,"  and  to  have  your  opinion   as  to    their 
probable  effect  in  settling  the  distracting  questions  of  the  day. 

Will  you  be  kind  enough  to  give  them  a  public  address  at 
such  time  as  may  suit  your  convenience  ? 

Respectfully  yours, 

James  H.  Dickson, 
Robert  H.  Cowan, 
D.  A.  Lamont, 
Thomas  Miller, 
Donald  MacRae, 
Robert  G.  Rankin, 
James  H.  Chadbourn, 
A.  H.  VanBokkelen, 
O.  G.  Parsley. 
To  George  Davis.  Esq. 


Wilmington,  2d  March,  1861. 
Gentlemen  : — Being    under   the   necessity   of  leaving   home 
to-morrow,  I  will  comply  with  the  request  of  my  fellow-citizens, 
as  intimated  in  your  note,  by  addressing  them  at  such  hour  and 
place  this  evening  as  you  may  appoint. 

Respectfully  yours, 

Geo.  Davis. 
To  Dr.  Jas.  H.  Dickson,  and  others. 


The  newspaper  reports  of  the  public  meeting,  and  of  Mr. 
Davis'  powerful  speech  which  followed,  do  not  convey  to  our 
minds  the  overwhelming  sensations  of  those  who  listened  to  this 
masterpiece  of  oratory.  Mr.  Davis  was  obliged  to  close  before 
he   had    finished   his   address.      The    people   were   profoundly 


19 

moved,  the  hearts  of  all  were  deeply  stirred.     Many  left  the  hall 
while  he  was  speaking,  for  they  could  not  restrain  their  emotion. 

The  Daily  Joiirnal  of  March  4,  1861,  says:  "In  accord- 
ance with  the  general  desire,  George  Davis,  Esq.,  addressed  his 
fellow- citizens  on  last  Saturday,  March  2d,  at  the  Thalian  Hall 
in  reference  to  the  proceedings  of  the  late  Peace  Congress,  of 
which  he  was  a  member,  giving  his  opinion  as  to  the  probable 
effect  of  such  proceedings  in  settling  the  distracting  questions  of 
the  day.  Although  the  notice  was  very  brief,  having  only 
appeared  at  mid-day  in  the  town  papers,  the  Hall  was  densely 
crowded  by  an  eager  and  attentive  audience,  among  whom  were 
many  ladies."  The  report  of  the  speech  is  very  full,  and  deals 
with  all  the  vital  questions  which  were  discussed  at  the  Peace 
Congress.  Mr.  Davis  said  that  "  he  shrunk  from  no  criticism 
upon  his  course,  but,  indeed,  invited  and  sought  for  it  the  most 
rigid  examination.  He  had  endeavored  to  discharge  the  duties 
of  the  trust  reposed  in  him  faithfully,  manfully  and  conscien- 
tiously, and  whatever  might  be  thought  of  his  policy,  he  felt 
that  he  had  a  right  to  demand  the  highest  respect  for  the  motives 
which  actuated  him  in  pursuing  that  policy."  Referring  to  his 
own  previous  position,  what  he  believed  to  be  the  position  of  the 
State,  the  course  of  the  Legislature  in  appointing  Commissioners, 
and  the  objections  to  the  action  of  the  "Peace  Congress,"  Mr. 
Davis  said  he  had  gone  to  the  "  Peace  Congress "  to  exhaust 
every  honorable  means  to  obtain  a  fair,  an  honorable  and  a  final 
settlement  of  existing  difficulties.  He  had  done  so  to  the  best 
of  his  abilities,  and  had  been  unsuccessful,  for  he  could  never 
accept  the  plan  adopted  by  the  "  Peace  Congress  "  as  consistent 
with  the  right,  the  interests  or  the  dignity  of  North  Carolina. 

Mr.  Davis  concluded  by  "emphatically  declaring  that  the 
South  could  never— never  obtain  any  better  or  more  satisfactory 
terms  while  she  remained  in  the  Union,  and  for  his  part  he  could 
never  assent  to  the  terms  contained  in  this  report  of  the  "  Peace 
Congress  "  as  in  accordance  with  the  honor  or  the  interests  of 
the  South." 

When  Mr.  Davis  had  concluded  Hon.  S,   J.  Person  moved 


20 

that  the  thanks  of  the  meeting  be  tendered  to  Mr.  Davis  for  the 
able,  manly  and  patriotic  manner  in  which  he  had  discharged  the 
duties  of  his  position  as  a  Commissioner  from  North  Carolina. 
The  motion  was  enthusiastically  carried. 

On  June  i8,  1861,  Mr.  Davis  and  Mr.  W.  W.  Avery  were 
elected  Senators  for  the  State  of  North  Corolina  to  the  Confed- 
erate Congress.  In  alluding  to  his  election  the  Journal,  the 
organ  in  this  section  of  the  Democratic  party,  says : 

"  Mr.  Davis  in  old  party  times  was  an  ardent  and  consistent 
member  of  the  opposition,  and  was  opposed  to  a  severance  from 
the  North,  until  he  felt  satisfied  by  the  result  of  the  Peace 
Conference  that  all  peaceful  means  had  been  exhausted." 

In  1862  he,  with  W.  T.  Dortch,  was  again  elected  Senator  by 
the  Legislature. 

In  January,  1864,  he  was  appointed  by  President  Davis 
Attorney  General  in  his  Cabinet.  The  commission  bears  date 
4th  January,  1864. 

The  high  esteem  in  which  Mr.  George  Davis  was  held  by  his 
devoted  chief  is  attested  in  the  following  letters  addressed  by 
the  Confederate  President  to  his  faithful  Attorney  General  after 
the  evacuation  of  Richmond  : 

Charlotte,  N.  C,   25th  April,  1865. 
Hon.  Geo.  Davis,  C.  S.  Attorney  General : 

My  Dear  Sir : — I  have  no  hesitation  in  expressing  to  you  my 
opinion  that  there  is  no  obligation  of  honor  which  requires  you, 
under  existing  circumstances,  to  retain  your  present  office.  It 
is  gratifying  to  me  to  be  assured  that  you  are  willing,  at  any 
personal  sacrifice,  to  share  my  fortunes  when  they  are  least 
promising,  and  that  you  only  desire  to  know  whether  you  can 
aid  me  in  this  perilous  hour  to  overcome  surrounding  difficulties. 
It  is  due  to  such  generous  friendship  that  I  should  candidly  say 
to  you  that  it  is  not  probable  that  for  some  time  to  come  your 
services  will  be  needful. 

It  is  with  sincere  regret  that  I  look  forward  to  being  separated 
from  you.     Your  advice  has  been  to  me  both  useful  and  cheer- 


2rl 

ing.  The  Christian  spirit  which  has  ever  pervaded  your  sugges- 
tions, not  less  than  the  patriotism  which  has  marked  your 
conduct,  will  be  remembered  by  me  when  in  future  trials  I  may 
have  need  for  both. 

Should  you  decide  (my  condition  having  become  rather  that 
of  a  soldier  than  a  civil  magistrate)  to  retire  from  my  Cabinet, 
my  sincere  wishes  for  your  welfare  and  happiness  will  folknv 
you ;  and  I  trust  a  merciful  Providence  may  have  better  days  in 
store  for  the  Confederacy,  and  that  we  may  hereafter  meet,  when, 
our  country's  independence  being  secured,  it  will  be  sweet  to 
remember  how  we  have  suffered  together  in  the  time  of  her 
sorest  trial. 

Very  respectfully  and  truly,  your  friend, 

Jefferson  Davis. 


Charlotte,  N.  C  ,  April  26,  1865. 
Hon.  Georce  Davis,  Attorney  General  : 

My  Dear  Sir: — Your  letter  dated  yesterday,  tendering  your 
resignation  has  been  received.  While  I  regret  the  causes  which 
compel  you  to  this  course,  I  am  well  assured  that  your  conduct 
now,  as  heretofore,  is  governed  by  the  highest  and  most  honor- 
able motives.  In  accepting  your  resignation,  as  I  feel  constrained 
to  do,  allow  me  to  thank  you  for  the  important  assistance  you 
have  rendered  in  the  administration  of  the  Government,  and  for 
the  patriotic  zeal  and  acknowledged  ability  with  which  you  have 
di.scharged  your  trust. 

Accept  my  thanks,  also,  for  your  ex[)ressions  of  personal 
regard  and  esteem,  and  the  assurance  that  those  feelings  are 
warmly  reciprocated  by  me. 

With  the  hope  that  the  blessings  of  Heaven  may  attend  you 
and  yours, 

I  am,  most  cordially,  your  friend, 

Jefferson  Davis. 


This  affectionate  regard  for  the  beloved  leader  of  the  Cape 
Fear  has  been  the  subject  of  repeated  conversations  in  late  years 


22 

between  a  member  of  your  committee  and  the  distinguished  lady 
who  still  bears  the  honored  name  of  Jefferson  Davis,  and  who  was 
ever  faithful  and  true  to  him  and  to  the  people  whom  he  loved. 

Upon  the  receipt  of  the  sad  intelligence  of  his  death,  she 
writes  from  a  sick  bed  the  following  tender  and  sympathetic 
lines  : 

"  I  am  able  to  sit  up  a  little,  and  regret  that  I  am  not  strong 
enough  to  say  as  much  about  dear  Mr.  George  Davis  as  my 
heart  dictates. 

"  He  was  one  of  the  most  exquisitely  proportioned  of  men. 
His  mind  dominated  his  body,  but  his  heart  drew  him  near  to 
all  that  was  honorable  and  tender,  as  well  as  patriotic  and  faithful, 
in  mankind.  He  was  never  dismayed  by  defeat,  but  never 
protested.  When  the  enemy  was  at  the  gates  of  Richmond  he 
was  fully  sensible  of  our  peril,  but  calm  in  the  hope  of  repelling 
them,  and  if  this  failed,  certain  of  his  power  and  will  to  endure 
whatever  ills  had  been  reserved  for  him. 

"  His  literary  tastes  were  diverse  and  catholic,  and  his  anxious 
mind  found  relaxation  in  studying  the  literary  confidences  of 
others  in  a  greater  degree  than  I  have  ever  known  any  other 
public  man  except  Mr.  Benjamin.  Upon  being  asked  one  day 
how  he  was,  he  answered :  '  I  am  very  much  comforted  and 
rested  by  Professor  Holcombe's  Literature  in  Letters,'  which  was 
one  of  the  few  new  books  which  came  out  during  the  Confed- 
eracy. One  of  the  few  hard  things  I  ever  heard  him  say  was 
when  some  one  asked  him  if  he  had  read  Swinburne's  Laus 
Veneris,  and  added,  '  You  know  it  is  printed  on  wrapping 
paper  and  bound  in  wall  paper.'  Mr.  Davis  answered  :  '  I 
have  never  thought  wall  paper  wholesome,  and  am  sorry  to 
know  there  was  enough  wrapping  paper  on  which  to  print  it.' 

"  He  was  fond  of  tracing  the  construction  of  languages,  and  the 
varients  from  one  root  were  a  favorite  subject  of  conversation 
with  him. 

"  When  he  fell  in  love  and  married  a  charming  woman,  the 
whole  of  Richmond  rejoiced  with  him,  and  expressed  no  doubts 
of  the    happiness    of   either.     Mr.    Davis'   public   life   was   as 


23 

irreproachable  as  his  private  course.  Once  when  my  husband 
came  home  wearied  with  the  divergence  of  opinions  in  his 
Cabinet,  he  said  :  '  Davis  does  not  always  agree  with  me,  but  I 
generally  find  he  was  right  at  last.' 

"  I  cannot,  of  course,  tell  you  about  his  political  opinions, 
except  that  he  was  one  of  the  strictest  construers  of  the  Consti- 
tution, and  firmly  believed  in  its  final  triumph  over  all  obstacles 
to  freedom, 

"  My  husband  felt  for  him  the  most  sincere  friendship,  as  well 
as  confidence  and  esteem,  and  I  think  there  was  never  the 
slightest  shadow  intervened  between  them. 

"  I  mourn  with  you  over  our  loss,  which  none  who  knew  him 
can  doubt  was  his  gain." 

Following  his  arrest  at  the  close  of  the  war,  the  late  Attorney 
General  was  imprisoned  for  some  months  in  Fort  Hamilton, 
sharing  to  that  extent  the  vicarious  sufferings  of  his  chief,  and 
was  finally  released  upon  parole  not  to  leave  the  State  of  North 
Carolina. 

During  this  period  Mr.  Davis'  second  marriage  was  celebrated 
in  Weldon,  on  the  9th  of  May,  1866,  to  Monimia  Fairfax, 
daughter  of  Dr.  Orlando  Fairfax,  of  Richmond,  Va.  (Mrs. 
Davis  died  27th  July,  1889.) 

At  this  time  earnest  solicitations  were  made,  and  flattering 
inducements  offered  to  Mr.  Davis  to  remove  to  a  Northern  State, 
and  practice  his  profession  in  a  more  extended  field.  Doubtless 
such  a  step  would  have  inured  greatly  to  his  worldly  advantage , 
but  he  resisted  all  the  allurements,  and  declared  his  intention  to 
live  among  his  own  people,  and  share  the  fate  of  those  whom 
he  loved  and  who  had  shown  him  indubitable  proof  of  their 
affection  for  him. 

On  the  evening  of  the  3d  of  November,  1876,  during  the 
Tilden-Vance  campaign,  Mr.  Davis  delivered  in  the  opera  house, 
which  was  filled  to  its  capacity,  a  speech  of  great  eloquence  and 
power,  upon  the  political  issues  of  the  day,  which  was  reported 
for  the  Morning  Star  newspaper,  in  its  issue  of  the  4th  of 
November,  and  editorially  referred  to  as  follows : 


24 

"  The  speech  to  which  we  listened  is  a  very  memorable  one. 
It  will  long  abide  with  us  as  one  of  those  felicitous,  rounded, 
finished  efforts  of  a  highly  endowed  and  noble  intellect  that  will 
be  'a  memory  and  a  joy  forever.'  We  have  pigeon-holed  that 
great  speech  in  the  escritoire  of  our  own  mind,  where  we  have 
stored  but  few  of  the  productions  of  the  men  of  our  generation. 

"  As  a  composition  the  effort  of  Mr.  Davis  was  very  admirable. 
There  was  humor,  there  was  sarcasm,  there  was  an  exquisite 
irony,  there  were  flashes  of  wit,  there  was  an  outburst  of  corro- 
sive scorn  and  indignation  that  were  wonderfully  artistic  and 
effective.  At  times  a  felicity  of  illustration  would  arrest  your 
attention,  and  a  grand  outburst  of  high  and  ennobling  eloquence 
would  thrill  you  with  the  most  pleasurable  emotion.  The  taste 
was  exceedingly  fine,  and  from  beginning  to  end  the  workings 
of  a  highly  cultured,  refined,  graceful  and  elegant  mind  was 
manifest. 

"  There  were  passages  delivered  with  high  dramatic  art  that 
would  have  electrified  any  audience  on  earth.  If  that  speech 
had  been  delivered  before  an  Athenian  audience  in  the  days  of 
Pericles,  or  in  Rome  when  Cicero  thundered  forth  his  burning 
and  sonorous  eloquence,  or  in  Westminster  Hall,  with  Burke, 
and  Fox  and  Sheridan  among  his  auditors,  he  would  have 
received  their  loudest  acclaims,  and  his  fame  would  have  gone 
down  the  ages  as  one  of  those  rarely  gifted  men  who  knew  well 
how  to  use  his  native  speech,  and  to  play  with  the  touch  of  a 
master  on  that  grand  instrument,  the  human  heart.  We  feel 
confident  that  no  man  of  taste,  culture  and  intelligence  who 
heard  Mr.  Davis  will  charge  us  with  undue  enthusiasm  or  exces- 
sive laudation.  It  was  unquestionably  the  matured  production 
of  an  exceedingly  gifted  mind,  and  produced  the  happiest  effect 
upon  a  large  and  highly  interested  audience. 

"  And  now,  with  this  general  statement  of  our  impressions, 
how  shall  we  attempt  to  reproduce  even  a  meagre  abstract  of  so 
able  and  imposing  an  effort  ?  We  could  refer  at  length,  if  oppor- 
tunity allowed,  to  the  scheme  of  his  argument,  to  his  magnificent 
peroration,  in  which  passion  and  imagination  swept  the  audience 


25 

and  led  them  captive  at  the  will  of  the  magician  ;  to  the  exqui- 
sitely apposite  illustrations,  now  quaint  and  humorous,  and  then 
delicate  and  pathetic,  drawn  with  admirable  art  from  history  and 
poetry  and  the  sacred  Truth — to  these  and  other  points  we  might 
refer,  but  it  would  be  in  vain.  How  can  words,  empty  words, 
reproduce  the  glowing  eloquence  and  entrancing  power  of  the 
human  voice,  when  that  voice  is  one  while  soft  as  Apollo's  lute, 
or  resonant  as  the  blast  of  a  bugle  under  the  influence  of  deep 
passion  ?  How  can  the  pen  convey  to  others  the  sweet  melody 
of  harp  or  viol,  or  how  can  human  language  bring  back  a  for- 
gotten strain,  or  convey  an  exact  impression  that  is  made  by  the 
tongue  of  fire  when  burdened  with  a  majestic  eloquence." 

On  the  31st  of  March,  1880,  Mr.  Davis  and  Judge  Thomas 
Ruffin  were  selected  by  the  Commissioners  named  in  the  Act  of 
the  General  Assembly  authorizing  the  sale  of  the  Western  North 
Carolina  Rail  Road  to  W.  J.  Best  and  associates,  to  act  as 
counsel  for  the  State,  and  to  prepare  the  deed  and  contract. 

For  their  distinguished  services  in  this  matter,  which  are  well 
known,  he  and  Judge  Ruffin  refused  to  accept  a.ny  compensation. 

In  January,  1878,  Governor  Vance  offered  Mr.  Davis  the  Chief 
Justiceship  of  the  Supreme  Court,  made  vacant  by  the  death  of 
Chief  Justice  Pearson,  which  was  declined  for  reasons  shown  in 
the  lialeigh  Observer  newspaper  of  December  226,  1877,  as 
follows : 

HON.    GEORCE    DAVIS, 

"  As  was  natural,  when  the  time  came  to  look  around  for  men 
to  put  upon  the  highest  judicial  tribunal  in  the  State,  and  people 
everywhere  began  to  seek  out  the  ablest  and  the  best,  the  people 
of  North  Carolina  instinctively,  and,  we  may  say,  almost  with 
one  consent,  cast  their  eyes  upon  Mr.  George  Davis,  of 
Wilmington.  As  pure  as  he  is  able,  and  as  able  as  he  is  true 
and  devoted  to  the  land  that  gave  him  birth,  North  Carolina 
never  had  a  more  worthy,  a  more  brilliant  or  more  devoted  son 
than  he,  nor  one  better  fitted  in  all  the  qualities  of  head  and 
heart  for  the  high  position  to  which  people  everywhere  had 
expected  him  soon  to  be  called.  It  is  with  unfeigned  regret, 
therefore,  that  we  publish  the  following  letter  to  a  gentleman  in 


26 

this  city  announcing  Mr.  Davis'  purpose  not  to  allow  his  name 
to  be  used  in  connection  with  the  nomination  for  the  Supreme 
Court  bench,  and  giving  his  reason  therefor: 

Wilmington,  N.  C,  December  20th,  1877. 

J/?/  Dear  Sir : — You  will  remember  that  in  a  personal  inter- 
view some  time  ago  you  desired  to  be  informed  whether  I  would 
accept  a  nomination  for  the  Supreme  Court  bench,  and  were 
kind  enough  to  intimate  that  you  believed  the  Democratic  party 
would  tender  me  the  nomination  if  I  desired  it.  I  replied  that 
it  was  not  a  thing  to  be  determined  lightly  or  hastily;  that  I 
would  give  it  a  deliberate  and  serious  consideration,  and  at  the 
proper  time  would  communicate  to  you  my  decision. 

In  my  judgment  that  time  has  now  arrived.  The  subject  has 
of  late  been  urged  upon  me  so  frequently,  and  from  so  many 
different  quarters,  that  silence  is  no  longer  proper,  if  even 
possible. 

No  man  can  hold  in  higher  estimation  than  I  do  the  dignity 
of  such  a  position.  To  fill  it  worthily  would  be  the  highest 
reach  of  my  ambition.  And  even  to  be  esteemed  worthy  of  it 
by  any  considerable  portion  of  the  bar  and  people  of  North 
Carolina  is  an  honor  which  touches  me  profoundly. 

But  in  this  thing,  as  in  so  many  others,  I  am  obedient  to 
necessity.  I  cannot  live  upon  the  salary.  And  barely  to  live  is 
not  all  my  need.  One  of  my  first  duties  in  life  now  is  to 
endeavor  to  make  some  provision  for  the  little  children  that  have 
come  to  me  in  my  age.  At  the  bar  such  an  expectation  may 
not  be  unreasonable  when  better  times  shall  come.  But  upon 
the  bench  I  should  be  compelled  to  abandon  such  a  hope 
forever. 

I  must  therefore  decline  to  permit  my  name  to  go  before  the 
Convention  of  the  Democratic  party  in  connection  with  such  a 
nomination. 

You  are  at  liberty  to  make  such  use  of  this  letter  as  you  may 
think  proper. 

Very  truly,  your  friend, 

Geo.  Davis. 


27 

We  also  present  a  few  of  the  letters  written  to  Mr.  Davis  with 
special  reference  to  this  subject : 

Raleigh,  N.  C,  14th  January,  1878. 

My  Dear  Sir : — Want  of  time  only  has  prevented  me  from 
writing  to  congratulate  you,  not  upon  the  tender  of  the  Chief 
Justiceship,  but  upon  the  universal  manifestation  of  the  opinion 
that  you  were  the  first  man  in  the  State  to  whom  it  ought  to  be 
tendered,  and  that  your  acceptance  of  the  place  would  satisfy 
every  demand,  and  silence  every  claim  in  regard  to  the  appoint- 
ment. I  do  not  think  your  friends,  especially  personal  friends, 
I  mean,  here,  can  take  any  credit  to  themselves  for  Governor 
Vance's  action — certainly  I  cannot.  He  approached  me,  and  not 
I  him,  having  come  to  my  office  for  the  purpose.  He  said  that 
from  the  time  the  death  of  Chief  Justice  Pearson  was  announced 
to  him,  he  being  then  at  Charlotte,  until  the  time  of  speaking, 
and  all  along  the  road  whenever  the  matter  was  referred  to,  the 
universal  expression  was  that  you  were  the  person  to  whom  the 
people  were  looking  to  be  made  Chief  Justice.  The  Governor 
said,  aside  from  his  desire  to  meet  the  expectation  of  the  people, 
and  to  make  a  good  appointment,  there  were  considerations 
personal  to  himself  which  caused  him  to  desire  your  acceptance 
of  the  position ;  and  it  would  relieve  him  from  embarrassment 
in  choosing  from  other  gentlemen  who  might  desire  the  place. 
Your  appointment,  he  was  satisfied,  would  not  give  offence  to 
any  aspirant  not  appointed.         *         *         *         *         ■^'         * 

I  doubt  if  a  Chief  Justiceship  was  ever  before  tendered  to 
any  one  so  exclusively  for  the  reason  that  personal  fitness  and 
popular  demand  concurred  in  dictating  it.  Nor  were  the  per- 
sonal considerations  that  influenced  the  Governor  less  compli- 
mentary to  yourself;  as,  but  for  the  other  considerations  moving 
him  to  the  appointment,  you  would  not  have  been  available  to 
relieve  him  from  embarrassment.  For  to  relieve  that  embarrass- 
ment it  was  needed  the  new  Chief  Justice  should  be  facile  jwinceps, 
********** 

I  have  availed  myself  of  the  first  opportunity  to  write  to  you 


and  say  what  you  were  entitled  to  know,   though  I  was  not  at 

liberty  to  use  my  information  in  a  public  way. 

And  so,  with  the  best  wishes  for  you  and  yours,  now  and 

ever,  I  am, 

Very  respectfully, 

W.  L.  Saunders. 

Hon.  Geo.  Davis,  Wilmington,  N.  C. 


North  Carolina,  Executive  Department, 

Raleigh,  N.  C,  January  24th,  1878. 

Hon.  Geo.  Davis,  Wilmington,  N.  C. : 

Dear  Sir : — I  am  in  receipt  of  your  letter  in  regard  to  the 
Chief  Justiceship,  and  although  it  does  not  call  specially  for  a 
reply,  I  cannot  forbear  making  a  brief  response. 

I  desire  to  avail  myself  of  this  opportunity  to  say  to  you,  in 
person,  what  I  have  often  said  and  always  thought  in  your 
absence,  that  you  are  one  of  the  men  who  have  steadily  pursued 
principle  for  its  own  sake,  spurning  alike  the  temptations  of 
office  and  the  lures  of  ambition  when  they  came  not  strictly 
within  the  utmost  requirements  of  dignity  and  manly  honor. 
As  such  there  has  come  to  me,  as  the  result  of  my  position,  no 
greater  happiness  than  the  ability  to  testify  my  appreciation  of 
your  character  and  worth,  and  of  the  great  service  your  example 
has  been  in  shaping  and  toning  the  political  ethics  of  our  society. 
In  attempting  to  honor  you  by  the  bestowment  of  that  great 
office  I  have  also  attempted  to  show  what  is  my  own  sense  of 
State  honor,  as  well  as  to  give  expression  to  the  general  voice  of 
our  people.  In  this  respect  I  was  happy  in  the  belief  that  I 
could  not  err  as  between  you  and  the  distinguished  gentleman 
who  was  finally  chosen. 

Earnestly  hoping  that  you  may  not  be  disappointed  in  the 
attainment  of  those  ends  for  the  sake  of  which  you  declined  the 
Chief  Justiceship,  and  with  my  best  wishes  for  your  prosperity 
and  happiness,  I  am,  dear  sir,  as  ever  since  first  I  saw  your  face 
in  your  own  home  in  December,  1854,  I  have  been. 

Your  friend  and  obedient  servant, 

Z.  B.  Vance. 


29 

One  of  Mr.  Davis'  most  beautiful  compositions  was  dictated 
to  an  amenuensis  a  few  weeks  before  his  death,  and  while  he  was 
disabled  by  paralysis.  It  was  a  memorial  of  the  life  and  wqrk 
of  the  late  W.  T.  Walters,  of  Baltimore,  President  of  the  Atlantic 
Coast  Line.  The  occasion  was  Mr.  Davis'  last  appearance  in 
public,  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Wilmington  and  Weldon 
Rail  Road  Company,  during  which  resolutions  of  respect  and 
honor  to  the  memory  of  the  original  projector  of  the  Atlantic 
Coast  Line  system  were  adopted. 

Mr.  Davis  was  counsel  for  the  Wilmington,  Columbia  and 
Augusta  Rail  Road  Company,  formerly  the  Wilmington  and 
Manchester  Rail  Road  Company,  from  the  date  of  its  existence 
up  to  his  death. 

Upon  the  death  of  Mr.  William  A,  Wright,  he  succeeded  him 
as  counsel  for  the  Wilmington  and  Weldon  Rail  Road  Company. 

During  a  recent  interview  the  Executive  of  both  railroads. 
President  Warren  G.  Elliott,  said  to  one  of  your  Committee,  and 
with  evident  great  feeling : 

"  My  admiration  of  Mr.  George  Davis  was  unbounded.  Your 
request  that  I  should  add  to  the  memorial  of  his  life  which  you 
are  preparing  on  behalf  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  a  few 
lines  on  the  character  of  this  good  man,  is  one  that  I  cannot  well 
resist,  wliile  any  effort  on  my  part  to  do  justice  to  the  occasion 
will  necessarily  fall  far  short  of  the  mark. 

"  Having  known  Mr.  Davis  personally  for  only  a  few  years  (for 
I  first  met  him  after  his  face  was  turned  to  the  setting  sun,  and 
his  feet  were  on  the  decline  of  the  road),  I  must  leave  to  others 
the  pleasant  task  of  recording  their  personal  recollections  of  his 
earlier  career,  and  confine  myself  to  the  impressions  made  upon 
me  by  a  close  personal  acquaintance  during  the  declining  years 
of  his  beautiful  and  exemplary  life. 

"  It  was  my  good  fortune,  in  the  discharge  of  my  official  duties, 
to  have  the  benefit  of  his  advice  and  counsel,  and  if  ever  a 
difficult  or  doubtful  question  arose  it  wafe  always  solved  by  him 
on  the  side  of  truth  and  justice. 

"  Mr.  Davis  gave  to  us  a  splendid  illustration  of  every  manly 


30 

and  noble  virtue.  He  was  a  good  man,  a  just  man,  a  strong 
man ;  a  patriotic  citizen,  full  of  love  and  affection  for  his  native 
State ;  a  lovable,  companionable  friend  ;  affectionate  and  tender 
in  his  domestic  relations  ;  a  brave  and  fearless  man,  with  a  love 
for  the  right  and  a  scorn  for  the  wrong ;  chivalrous  and  honor- 
able, a  true  and  genuine  type  of  the  Olden  School— the  type  that 
never  had  its  superior,  and  that  never  will. 

"  It  is  almost  a  useless  task  that  we  should  undertake  to  place 
on  record  any  memorial  of  Mr.  Davis  as  a  law}^er.  His  name 
and  his  fame  will  be  handed  down  from  generation  to  generation. 
The  recognized  head  of  his  noble  profession  in  this  State,  no 
future  historian  can  ever  truthfully  record  the  great  deeds  of  the 
best  and  ablest  sons  of  this  noble  old  Commonwealth  without 
paying  tribute  to  George  Davis  of  New  Hanover  as  an  honor  to 
his  profession,  and  as  a  lawyer  of  the  highest  eminence  and 
purest  type.  He  was  indeed  a  skillful  lawyer,  a  wise  counsellor, 
able,  strong  and  vigorous.  Appreciated  by  all  as  a  leader  in  his 
profession,  he  has  bequeathed  to  the  younger  members  of  the 
Bar  an  example  that  they  .should  love  to  follow  and  to  reverence  ; 
a  legacy  to  all  of  them  of  inestimable  value,  for  his  life  was  a 
lofty  ideal,  a  standard  to  be  lived  up  to,  and  worthy  to  be 
followed, 

"  He  has  laid  down  his  armor  when  the  tide  was  at  its  ebb, 
after  having  enjoyed  during  a  long  and  eventful  life  the  greatest 
riches  that  this  world  can  bestow — the  genuine  love,  reverence, 
respect  and  admiration  of  his  fellow-men — with  his  integrity 
unstained,  and  without  a  whisper  of  detraction  against  his 
motives,  his  character  or  liis  purposes  ;  and  the  Christian  grace 
and  dignity  with  which  he  met  the  final  summons  was  but  the 
crowning  glory  of  an  honorable  and  exemplary  career  on  this 
earth." 


The  last  appearance  of  Mr.  Davis  before  a  general  audience 
was  at  the  mass  meeting  in  the  Opera  House,  in  1889,  to  do 
honor  to  the  memory  of  ex-President  Davis.     He  was  already 


31 

in  feeble  health,  and  unequal  to  an  oration,  but  the  tenderness 
and  sweetness  of  his  personal  reminiscences,  as  he  presented  the 
side  of  his  friend's  character  that  was  least  known  to  the  world, 
will  abide  in  the  memory  of  those  who  heard  him,  like  the 
lingering  fragrance  of  flowers  that  have  faded  and  passed  away. 
In  the  concluding  passage,  in  which  he  spoke  of  the  President's 
religious  faith,  he  unconsciously  reflected  his  own  simple  and 
abiding  trust  in  God ;  and  we  can  find  no  words  which  more 
fittingly  describe  the  Christian  life  of  our  Mr.  Davis,  than  those 
that  he  uttered  of  his  dead  chieftain  : 

"  He  was  a  high-souled,  true  hearted  Christian  gentleman. 
And  if  our  poor  humanity  has  any  higher  form  than  that,  I  know 
not  what  it  is.  His  great  and  active  intellect  never  exercised 
itself  with  questioning  the  being  of  God,  or  the  truth  of  His 
revelations  to  man.  He  never  thought  it  wise  or  smart  to 
scoff  at  mysteries  which  he  could  not  understand.  He  never  was 
daring  enough  to  measure  infinate  power  and  goodness  by  the 
poor,  narrow  gauge  of  a  limited,  crippled  human  intellect. 
Where  he  understood,  he  admired,  worshipped,  adored.  Where 
he  could  not  understand,  he  rested  unquestioningly  upon  a  faith 
that  was  as  the  faith  of  a  little  child — a  faith  that  never  wavered, 
and  that  made  him  look  always  undoubtingly,  fearlessly,  through 
life,  through  death,  to  life  again." 

In  that  address  also  occurs  the  following  passage,  which  is 
worthy  of  all  preservation  as  the  declaration  of  one  of  com- 
manding intellect  and  wide  experience,  after  he  had  reached  the 
limit  of  three-score  years  and  ten,  as  to  what  attribute  he  con- 
sidered of  the  highest  value  in  human  character: 

"  My  public  life  was  long  since  over ;  my  ambition  went  down 
with  the  banner  of  the  South,  and,  like  it,  never  rose  again.  I 
have  had  abundant  time  in  all  these  quiet  years,  and  it  has  been 
my  favorite  occupation,  to  review  the  occurrences  of  that  time, 
and  recall  over  the  history  of  that  tremendous  struggle ;  to 
remember  with  love  and  admiration  the  great  men  who  bore  their 
parts  in  its  events. 

"  I  have  often  thought  what  was  it  that  the  Southern  people 


32 

had  to  be  most  proud  of  in  all  the  proud  things  of  their  record  ? 
Not  the  achievements  of  our  arms !  No  man  is  more  proud  of 
them  than  I;  no  man  rejoices  more  in  Manassas,  Chancel! ors- 
ville  and  in  Richmond  ;  but  all  nations  have  had  their  victories. 
There  is  something,  I  think,  better  than  that,  and  it  was  this, 
that  through  all  the  bitterness  of  that  time,  and  throughout  all 
the  heat  of  that  fierce  contest,  Jefferson  Davis  and  Robert  E. 
Lee  never  spoke  a  word,  never  wrote  a  line  that  the  whole  neutral 
world  did  not  accept  as  the  very  indisputable  truth.  Aye,  truth 
was  the  guiding  star  of  both  of  them,  and  that  is  a  grand  thing 
to  remember ;  upon  that  my  memory  rests  more  proudly  than 
upon  anything  else.  It  is  a  monument  better  than  marble,  more 
durable  than  brass.  Teach  it  to  your  children,  that  they  may  be 
proud  to  remember  Jefferson  Davis." 


As  we  contemplate  the  lofty  qualities  of  the  noble  man  who 
has  been  taken  from  our  community  and  Commonwealth,  we 
cannot  repress  the  sigh  of  regret  that  such  greatness  is  no  more. 
The  soaring  thought,  the  brilliant  imagination,  the  balanced 
judgment,  the  profound  learning,  we  do  not  expect  to  see  every 
day,  nor  in  every  generation.  The  stainless  honor,  the  broad 
patriotism,  the  noble  disinterestedness  of  his  public  service,  are 
unhappily  too  little  seen  in  our  public  men.  But  it  is  surely  not 
too  much  to  hope  that  the  example  of  his  blameless  life  will  not 
be  lost  upon  the  people  among  whom  he  lived  so  long,  and  so 
honorably. 

How  well  he  exemplified  in  his  own  career  the  beautiful 
message,  which  he  brought  in  his  early  years  to  those  just 
entering  upon  the  duties  of  life  : 

"  Rather  be  yours  the  generous  ambition  to  shine  only  in  the 
pure  excellence  of  virtue  and  refinement.  *  *  *  Go  forth, 
then,  into  the  world,  and  meet  its  trials  and  dangers,  its  duties 
and  pleasures,  with  a  firm  integrity  of  heart  and  mind,  looking 
ever  onward  and  upward,  and  walking  erect  before  the  gaze  of 


33 


men,  fearless,  because  without  reproach.  When  the  glad  sun- 
shine is  upon  you,  rejoice  and  be  happy.  When  the  dark  hours 
come,  light  them  with  a  gentle  patience  and  a  Christian  faith. 
->  '^  ^  This  above  all :  '  To  thine  own  self  be  true,  and  it 
must  follow  as  the  night  the  day,  thou  canst  not  then  be  false 
to  any  man.'  " 


